Almost half of fathers have not used any parental leave! Even in the case of paternity leave, which until 2021 did not exceed 2 days in duration (extended to 14 days by law 4808/2021) only 34% of dads declare to have received it. These figures - indicative of a mindset that even today wants child-rearing to be the mother's «job» - were presented yesterday at an event jointly organised by the Women On Top and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation Greece and Cyprus on «Paternity and parental leave: equal participation of men in care». These are the first findings of a major survey on the barriers that prevent men from using parental leave implemented by QED on behalf of Women On Top. As WoT co-founder Stella Kasdagli said, «equal sharing of caring responsibilities is essential for women's equal participation in the labour market and in decision-making».

In particular, 47% of the fathers surveyed (with children up to 12 years old, working in the private sector) answered that they have not taken any parental leave. The reasons for not taking parental leave in particular were - according to them - because their partner used it (31%), because they had increased work commitments (28%), because they did not know that this possibility existed (23%) and because they would be judged negatively by their superiors (20%). Other reasons cited were fear of dismissal or reduction of income, negative impressions of their colleagues, and difficulty in adjusting to work after taking leave. Again: all this for a period of absence from work of just 2 or (from 2021 onwards) 14 days!

Lack of information

As the survey shows, the information deficit around parental leave is very high, with the lowest level of knowledge concerning parental leave (it should be recalled that, in addition to maternity and paternity leave, every working parent or person exercising parental care has an individual and non-transferable right to parental leave for the upbringing of a child of 4 months, which can be used consecutively or in parts until the child reaches the age of 8 years). Maternity-related leaves seem to be the only ones clearly identified by over 50% of respondents.

As the research shows, gender stereotypes are even more pronounced in parenthood issues. 58% of men (either fathers of children up to 12 years old or men who are planning to have a child in the next 1-4 years) feel that the labour market «punishes» men who take parental leave. 28% of men report that if a male colleague used parental leave, they would consider it to be bad for their career. 27% of men believe that when both parents work, the woman should have the responsibility for childcare. 20% of men agree that working mothers cannot be as caring as mothers who do not work. 21% of men believe that men who use multi-day parental leave are not committed enough to their careers.

At the same time, 26% of women and 33% of men believe that men should support the family and women should supplement the family income. 24% of women and 32% of men believe that it is women's obligation to adapt their lives to the needs of the family, while 27% of men believe that women should be responsible for household chores.

Those who... dared

Of the fathers who have used some parental leave, 8% report that they developed physical and emotional care skills, 77% of men report that they developed empathy skills and 77% report that they developed communication skills.

Of those who have not taken any parental leave, on the other hand, 33% reports that this decision had no impact on his personal life, while 35% notes that he experienced feelings of guilt from his limited presence in raising the child. «The role of politics is also educational,» noted at yesterday's event the Deputy Minister of Labour and Social Affairs Maria Syrengela. «To legislate and implement and thus change the culture.».